


Rising Sun Blues

by Anthusiasm (HalfwayDecentFanfiction)



Category: Cinderella (1950), Disney - All Media Types, The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Genre: Abuse, Comfortween 2020, F/F, Familial Abuse, Period Typical Homophobia, heat exhaustion, period typical racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:06:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26764780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HalfwayDecentFanfiction/pseuds/Anthusiasm
Summary: Tiana thinks the mysterious woman she's been seeing will never love her back. But it's more complicated than that.
Relationships: Cinderella/Tiana (Disney)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16
Collections: Comfortween 2020





	Rising Sun Blues

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Helping someone cool down, treating heat exhaustion/heatstroke, cool cloth for fever, treating sunburn.

Sometimes, despite being a successful businesswoman, Tiana felt like the biggest idiot in New Orleans. Here she was, on the hottest day of the summer. She could be spending her (very short) break in the cool shade of the trees outside her restaurant, staying nearby so she could be on hand to deal with any emergencies. Instead, she had left her sous-chef in charge so she could hustle through Tremé to meet a girl who’d made it very clear she wasn’t interested in anything more serious than fooling around.

She spent the whole journey to and from their meeting spot worrying about the restaurant—that something would go wrong, that she’d come back and find a horde of angry customers at the restaurant because the sous-chef couldn't handle the crowds, or that they’d get caught in the middle of something compromising. But in between, the only thing she could think about was Miss Cinderella Tremaine. Her golden hair, damp with sweat, her innocent, baby-blue eyes. Her sharp sense of humor and the way she could turn even the worst days around with a smile, a few jokes, and a hungry, searching kiss. Sometimes, it felt like Cinderella could put a positive spin on anything. If the city got hit by a hurricane, she thought, Cinderella would be excited about the chance to learn how to swim.Tiana had tried to invite Cinderella back to the restaurant, or back to her place, but Cinderella demurred every time, trying to play it off as a joke. Once, she’d looked Tiana in the eye and sighed. “That’s a nice dream,” said Cinderella. “But this is the real world, and we both have to get back to work.”

That should’ve been the end of it for Tiana. She understood the risks they were taking. She knew what could happen if they got caught. And she knew that the worst of it would not fall on the lily-white Miss Tremaine. If this woman was willing to fool around with Tiana but not brave enough to commit to her, she wasn’t worth the risk or the time. Every night, she vowed that she was finished with Cinderella. But then she’d dream of Cinderella’s rough, desperate hands all night long, and by morning all her resolve would vanish as fast as the first batch of waffles on a Saturday morning at Tiana's Place.

Today, she’d even gotten to the restaurant early and baked a batch of beignets for her. She’d never admit it, but Cinderella was quickly becoming her favorite person to cook for. Somehow, this dainty-looking, rail-thin woman tore into her pastries with more gusto than a man twice her size.

When she finally arrived at the abandoned building where they usually met, no one was there. She waited one minute, then two, then five, then ten, then twenty. She looked behind every stick of furniture, in every closet, even behind every door—nothing. No telltale musical giggle, no flash of blonde hair. Cinderella hadn’t come.

“Shit,” Tiana muttered. She’d spent all that time agonizing about whether to break things off, only for Cinderella to beat her to the punch. At least she would’ve had the decency to end things face to face, instead of disappearing without a trace. Like a mirage. The most beautiful, tantalizing vision Tiana had ever seen.

Fuck it. Tiana was not going to let things end this way. She gathered up her basket of beignets, swiped at her forehead to get rid of the sweat, and hustled down the street. Cinderella had been vague about where she lived and had only once mentioned that she “worked nearby”—that had to mean the French Quarter, the same neighborhood where Charlotte lived. Charlotte loved gossip and knew everything about her neighbors. She’d almost certainly know where Cinderella worked. No way was this woman getting away from her without an explanation. If anyone was going to end this, it would be Tiana.

As she walked, the houses got nicer, the streets got quieter, and Tiana got more nervous. She started rehearsing her story in her head—she worked at a restaurant, she was delivering pastries to a customer. She hoped Charlotte would know how to find Cinderella, or all this risk would be for nothing.

As it turned out, she didn’t need Charlotte after all. She rounded a corner, and there, in front of a white house with a tall tower on its left side, was Cinderella. Her sleeves were rolled up, her hair tied back, and she was standing in front of one of the house’s many windows, polishing it with an almost hysterical intensity.

“Hey!” said Tiana sharply. 

Cinderella turned slowly. Too slowly. She didn’t look right. Her face and hair were slick with sweat, making her look like a wet dog. And she was unsteady on her feet, swaying slightly as she moved. When she saw Tiana, her eyes widened. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, stepping towards Tiana. “I didn’t mean to disappear. I just—” She stumbled, grabbing onto the walls for support. Tiana stepped forward and grabbed her wrist, feeling for her pulse. It fluttered like a hummingbird's wings, too fast. 

“Couldn’t get away,” Cinderella mumbled. 

“Okay,” said Tiana. “This way.” She put her arm around Cinderella’s shoulder and shepherded her towards Charlotte’s house.

“What?” said Cinderella.

“You’re sick,” said Tiana. “If you don’t lie down now, it’ll get worse.” 

“I can’t,” Cinderella said, trying ineffectually to push Tiana away. “I have to get back.” 

Tiana turned to the side, looking Cinderella in the eye. To her surprise, the other woman looked like she was about to cry.

“I’m not going to let you get hurt,” said Tiana, and she saw Cinderella’s eyes widen slightly.

She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, her eyes rolled back into her head, and she collapsed. Tiana caught her before she hit the ground. 

* * *

Luckily, Charlotte was home, and Tiana was able to stem the flow of questions for long enough to get Cinderella inside. She found a couch near the kitchen and laid her down, then soaked a cloth in cool water and pressed it to the other woman’s head.

When Cinderella awoke, she sat up straight, looking frantically to the left and right. Tiana handed her a glass of water. 

“Drink,” said Tiana.

Cinderella shook her head. “I have to go.” She started to get up, then, clearly dizzy, sank back down. 

“Drink first,” said Tiana.

Cinderella drained the glass in a few swallows.

“I’m sorry for the trouble,” she said softly, not meeting Tiana’s eyes.

“Don’t be,” said Tiana. “I’m just glad you didn’t really break things off without even telling me to my face.”

Cinderella looked up, eyes wide. “No,” she said. “No, I wouldn’t.” 

Tiana smiled. “Good. Me neither.” In fact, with Cinderella in front of her again, she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to break things off. There she was, being stupid again. 

Cinderella tried to stand again. “I really do need to get back to work.” 

Tiana shook her head. “You’re sick,” she said.

“They won’t care,” said Cinderella. 

Tiana shook her head. “If they work you until you can’t stand anymore and then get blame you for it, you ought to quit.”

Cinderella shook her head quickly and looked down again. “I can’t.”

“What do you mean, you can’t?” said Tiana. 

Cinderella didn’t answer. She seemed to be deliberately not meeting Tiana’s eyes. 

“All right,” said Tiana. “You don’t have to tell me.” 

“You came to find me,” said Cinderella softly, almost a whisper. 

“Yes,” said Tiana. “I know you didn’t want me to know where you worked. I’m sorry.” 

Cinderella shook her head furiously. “No,” said Cinderella. “Thank you. I didn’t think you would care so much.” 

“What do you mean?” said Tiana, crossing her arms. 

Cinderella took a deep breath, still not meeting Tiana’s eyes. “I don’t work there,” she said. “At that house. I live there. With my stepmother.” She clenched and unclenched her right hand nervously. “They don’t let me leave.”

Tiana knew that not everyone’s parents were as loving as hers. She’d heard stories, seen things. She understood in an instant. And all of a sudden, she saw everything about Cinderella in a different light. How thin she was. The way she tore through Tiana’s pastries like she was starving. The way she never talked about her own life, always asking about Tiana’s day instead. She felt sick with horror as she looked at Cinderella’s sweat-soaked hair and clammy skin.

“You aren’t going back,” she found herself saying, and before the words had even fully left her mouth she knew that was true. She didn’t care what she had to do to make it happen, what she was up against, how impossible things might be. Cinderella was not going back to that house to be worked to death like a pack horse. Not with Tiana around. 

Cinderella looked up at her, and Tiana saw there were tears in her eyes. She wanted to scream, to march up to that house and find Cinderella’s stepmother. She wanted to shout at that woman until she felt shame, real shame for what she had done to Cinderella. 

“I have to,” said Cinderella. 

“You don’t,” said Tiana. “Not if I have anything to say about it.” 

Cinderella grabbed Tiana’s hand, and Tiana seethed when she felt how clammy it was. “You shouldn’t,” she said. “I don’t know what she’ll do to you, but it won’t be good. I can’t stand it. If something happens, and it’s my fault, I can’t. I can’t.” Her breath quickened, and Tiana wrapped her arm around the other woman’s too-narrow shoulders to steady her.

Cinderella took a deep breath, relaxing into Tiana’s embrace. “I have a plan,” she said. 

“What plan?” said Tiana, smiling slightly. Cinderella’s optimism was positively unconquerable. She might need Tiana's help bringing her plan back down to earth, but she'd have a plan, all right.

“I’m going to marry a rich man,” said Cinderella. 

Tiana drew back. “What?” 

“That’s why I didn’t want to see your restaurant,” said Cinderella. “I didn’t want things to get too serious, because I knew it couldn’t last. I’m so sorry.”

Tiana swatted the apology away as if it were a gnat. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. But I know you don’t want to marry a man. You’ve made it very clear that you wouldn’t be happy.” Tiana swallowed. “If you’re not going to be happy with me, that’s fine. But you’d better be happy with someone. You deserve it.”

“I’ll be happy as long as I’m out of that house,” said Cinderella.

Tiana shook her head. “Don’t you dare settle for survival, Cinderella,” she said. “I know you. I know you have dreams. Don’t give up on them. Don’t trade one prison for another. You deserve better than that.”

Cinderella shook her head. “I can’t do anything else. All I have is this.” She gestured towards face. “So I’m using it.”

Tiana almost laughed. “And who told you that, exactly? Your stepmother? Don’t listen to her. Listen to me.”

Cinderella looked at her in disbelief. 

“What exactly do they have you doing at that house?” said Tiana. 

Cinderella shrugged. “Cooking. Cleaning. Doing laundry, washing dishes.”

“Come wash dishes at my restaurant instead. I’ll pay you,” said Tiana.

“What?” said Cinderella.

“I don’t know what they tell you in that house, but out here, those are things you get paid to do,” said Tiana. “Come work for me. I’ll help you find a place to live, and I won’t make you work yourself to exhaustion on the hottest day of the year.”

“But…but…” Cinderella said, looking like she wasn’t sure what to say.

“You won’t be rich,” said Tiana. “But you’ll be free. If you don’t want to work for me, I’ll find you somewhere else to work. If you want to stop fooling around with me, fine. Find someone else. Another girl. I know where to find girls like us in this city. But don’t go back, and don’t trap yourself in another big, fancy house with someone you don’t love.”

Cinderella looked at Tiana for a long moment, almost horrified. Then, suddenly, she pulled Tiana into a hug. Startled, Tiana hugged back.

“All right,” she said into Tiana’s shoulder. “I’ll go with you.” She pulled away, then, almost laughing, said again, “I’ll go with you! I never thought I’d get to say that.” She pulled Tiana’s face towards her and kissed it. “I’ll work at your restaurant.” She kissed Tiana again. “I’ll be with you.” Again. “I can’t believe it. I never thought—I was so afraid that one day I’d have to say goodbye forever.”

Tiana cupped Cinderella’s face in her hands, looked her in the eye, then leaned in and kissed her, slow and sure.

“Drink some more water,” she said when she pulled away. “Rest a little longer. Then we’ll go home.”

Cinderella leaned in and rested her head on Tiana’s shoulder. “I can’t wait.”


End file.
